[CoiL]

I had that idea 3 years ago. Nice to see that someone is finally making it!

 

[drbluenewmexico]

  Sigh! Well, I have ordered the D27 (6 Knowles BAs and 1 Dynamic Driver). Yes, seven drivers for under $400. It will take about a week to get to me. I'll let you guys know how it goes. But I have to say my impressions will be brief (if I say much at all in public threads). I can't  reconcile being told what products I own (and paid for with my money) I can and can't talk about  due to controversies I personally have nothing to do with. But I'm sure some friends here will want to know some of my thoughts. Happy listening.

Thanks for exploring the edge of sound technology Eric!!!! I definitely want to hear your impressions!!!
Discovery audionauts used to call it "taking one for the team".....
i know your excellent ears will bring back some interesting observations from the edge of technology!

 

[Trapok]

I've been lurking while enjoying these KZ ATEs. For fun I got out my TTPOD T1Es to do a little A/B action.


For a long time, the TTPODs had been my #1 budget-fi IEM. I listened to them almost exclusively until I started working from home and having that level of isolation wasn't needed anymore. (I went back to listening to my AT WS99s)

After listening to the KZ ATEs for the last week, putting in the TTPODs kind of a shock to the system. I thought to myself "how did I listen to these for so long". The best adjective I could come up with to describe the TTPODs was "shouty". Everything in the treble and midbass seemed overly aggressive and had a hard edge to it. But when the beat dropped, I was reminded why I put up with that shouty sound for so long, the TTPODs have such good sub-bass.

Put the KZs back in and it was like putting on your favorite sweatpants or having a nice cup of cocoa, Comfy, Rich, Warm. The first thing that stands out when switching back was how little mid-range the TTPODs have. Second thing I notice was how much wide and enveloping the soundstage is on the KZs. Finally, while there's a small sacrifice in sub-bass, the entire rest of the range is fuller and more musical. This leads to one of the most non-fatiguing IEMs I've ever used. The KZ is something I can listen to for hours and never find myself reaching to turn it up or down, or change eq.

Bottom line, KZ makes the TTPOD T1E look like amateur hour. 

??? Could you tell us gear you use, cause for me there is no comparison between them (kz is really amateur) using Xduoo X3 + cmoy

 

[ericp10]

D27
 
 
 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-NicheCK-DZ7-In-Ear-Earphone-Hybrid-7-Drive-Unit-DIY-HIFI-Monitor-Printing-NiceHCK-Customized/32689893188.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.57.3Vi0Yo

 

[bjaardker]

??? Could you tell us gear you use, cause for me there is no comparison between them (kz is really amateur) using Xduoo X3 + cmoy

 
99% of my IEM use is on my LG v10 with the Hi-Fi DAC/AMP enabled. (yes, I have the dac fix installed). Any other use would be from my Asus laptop, but none of that was included in my impressions.
 
Since my last impressions, I did A/B them using my v10 with hi-fi on and my FIIO E12. Those results turned out as one would expect with TTPODs being a little less shouty, and the KZ ATE being almost too laid back. That's purely due to the sound signature of the E12 itself. That amp tends to make everything a little bit warmer and less edgy. That's why it gets very little use from me since most of the headphones I like (Senn Momenteum over ear, KZ ATE, and AT WS99) don't need any extra warmth and the E12 can push them toward a "tubby" sound. 

If I had to use the E12 or some other source that warmed up the sound, I can see where the TTPODs could come into contention with the KZ's.

Hope that helps!

 

[RedJohn456]

Oh man look what just showed up in my mail box, this is gonna get cray cray!!

 

iFi Audio Micro iDSD + iPurifier 2 and Gemini USB cables! Can't wait to test these bad boys out 

 

 

I have also had the Resonessence Labs Concero HP for about a week and I gotta say that this definitely something special Gotta give some love to Canadian made products, as the fine folks at Resonessence Labs have done a bang up job with the Concero HP. This thing has so much power its crazy. And oh how good it sounds 

 I will be posting a more in-depth look at it pretty soon.

 

 

 
 
The TFZ Series of iems are just straight up bonkers. And I mean that in the best way possible. They have opened my eyes to what naturally warm sounding dynamic driver iems SHOULD sound like. All three are fantastic but I would say the Series 3 or 5 are where the special sauce is at IMO.

 

 
 
I would say that the LZ A2S and TFZ series are the new standards for what you can get for <$100 dollars these days. Along with the Havi B3 Pro 1 of course 

. 

 

[Lurk650]

99% of my IEM use is on my LG v10 with the Hi-Fi DAC/AMP enabled. (yes, I have the dac fix installed). Any other use would be from my Asus laptop, but none of that was included in my impressions.

Since my last impressions, I did A/B them using my v10 with hi-fi on and my FIIO E12. Those results turned out as one would expect with TTPODs being a little less shouty, and the KZ ATE being almost too laid back. That's purely due to the sound signature of the E12 itself. That amp tends to make everything a little bit warmer and less edgy. That's why it gets very little use from me since most of the headphones I like (Senn Momenteum over ear, KZ ATE, and AT WS99) don't need any extra warmth and the E12 can push them toward a "tubby" sound. 


If I had to use the E12 or some other source that warmed up the sound, I can see where the TTPODs could come into contention with the KZ's.


Hope that helps!

You should so the Hifi Amp hack to get even more juice

 

[CoiL]

  All three are fantastic but I would say the Series 3 or 5 are where the special sauce is at IMO.

I would say that the LZ A2S and TFZ series are the new standards for what you can get for <$100 dollars these days.

What is the main difference between s3 & s5 and how do they compare to A2S in terms of soundstage, micro-details and separation/layering ?

 

[Hisoundfi]

Edifier H850 review:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/edifier-h850-hi-fi-over-ear-monitor-audiophile-headphones-black/reviews/16420

 

[7S Cameron]

Does anyone know if there are any good deals for audio equipment with the Amazon prime day sale? I've been looking, but I haven't found anything yet. I don't want to miss out on anything!

 

[Niyologist]

Does anyone know if there are any good deals for audio equipment with the Amazon prime day sale? I've been looking, but I haven't found anything yet. I don't want to miss out on anything!

The Audio Technica MSR7 is $199.99. There's 15 of them left.

 

[FlacFan]

  Does anyone know if there are any good deals for audio equipment with the Amazon prime day sale? I've been looking, but I haven't found anything yet. I don't want to miss out on anything!

Try this: http://deals.headphonesnao.com/
 
Scroll a bit down, there is an entire section including the start times.....
 
Cheers.

 

[bjaardker]

Following up on my past couple of raves for the KZ ATE...
 
I've come across some music that just doesn't work for the KZ ATEs. For some reason any of the post 2000 Steely Dan or Donald Fagan albums sound really congested. I think the problem lies in the fact that the ATE's laid back mids push Donald Fagan's vocals/keyboards and the rhythm guitar too far back in the mix. This isn't a problem with Steely Dan's earlier stuff since albums like Aja or Gaucho were rather mid heavy and needed a boost in the bottom end (IMHO). However, Two Against Nature, Everything Must Go, and Donald's solo album Sunken Condos all have this veiled/congested feel to them. Being a huge Dan fan, this is a bit of a disappointment.
 
Then I turn on something like Hayling by FC Kahuna and my mouth kind of drops open due to the width and depth of the soundstage and imaging. 

https://youtu.be/G1QkpGMN_C4

They're not perfect, and based on these new findings, for some types of music they're plain mediocre. But for $15...I'm still amazed.

Also, I need to curse you all. I just put in an order for the TFZ Series 5. Darn you Head-Fi, I love you, I hate you.
 
(Edit: I just played Feist's Mushaboom....holy crap. amazing.)

 

[CoiL]

bjaardker, Interesting find about ATE match with music. I`ve come only into few albums that doesn`t match well with ATE imaging/presentation and sound signature but they are usually genres with few "heavy" instruments and "in your face" intimate style presentation/mastering - ATE just pushes some instruments/sounds too far for them and doesn`t sound quite "right". 
But all the more complex and great mastering progressive/alternative rock albums sound great with ATE. For example all Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson songs sound very good.
 
With TFZ S5 - it probably needs modifications to sound right, otherwise it will be "bassy" IEM.

 

[bjaardker]

 
With TFZ S5 - it probably needs modifications to sound right, otherwise it will be "bassy" IEM.

 
I planned on trying them out and burning them in as they are OOTB, but I fully expected that I'd be getting a small needle and performing the "harakiri" mod. 
 

 But all the more complex and great mastering progressive/alternative rock albums sound great with ATE. For example all Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson songs sound very good.

 
That's why I thought Steely Dan would have been a perfect match. But there's something about it that really didn't work. I'm not sure about the intimacy thing. I just listened to one of my favorite albums Joni Mitchell's Hejira, and it sounded great. Jaco's bass was phenomenal.